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In Honor of the Forthcoming Barclays Center Card, We Pay Tribute To Brooklyn’s Rich Boxing Heritage
WBC heavyweight titlist Deontay Wilder opposes Artur Szpilka in the main event of the January 16 boxing show at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. In the main supporting bout, Charles Martin meets Vyachelov Glazkov for the IBF heavyweight belt vacated by Tyson Fury.
The 19,000-seat Barclays Center, Brooklyn’s instant monument, opened in September of 2012. It has housed 15 boxing shows, but the Jan. 16 event will be the first in which heavyweights get top billing. As co-promoter Lou DiBella notes, 115 years have elapsed since the last heavyweight title fight in Brooklyn.
That’s an awfully long time considering Brooklyn’s rich boxing heritage.
During the late nineteenth century when boxing was transitioning from the bare-knuckle to the gloved era, few fighters were as lionized as Jack Dempsey (the original Jack Dempsey) and Jack McAuliffe. Dempsey was active from 1883 to 1895. In his prime he was considered peerless, hence his nickname “Nonpareil.” McAuliffe, dubbed the Napoleon of the Prize Ring, competed from 1885 to 1897. He retired undefeated.
Born 39 months apart in Ireland, Dempsey and McAuliffe were young children when they settled with their parents in Brooklyn. Lore has it that for a time they were co-workers in a Williamsburg barrel manufacturing plant.
Nonpareil Jack Dempsey had his last fight at Coney Island. For a time, the seaside community at the southern tip of Brooklyn rivaled New Orleans and San Francisco as the leading destination for prizefights of international importance.
Coney Island hadn’t yet morphed into a family amusement center. Home to three important racetracks, Coney Island after dark mirrored New York City’s infamous Bowery, a place identified with low-brow entertainment. It was a natural locale for prizefighting, a sport widely condemned as immoral.
The highlights of the Coney Island epoch were the three fights involving James J. Jeffries. On June 9, 1899, Jeffries wrested the heavyweight crown from the head of Bob Fitzsimmons with an 11th round stoppage. Later that year he repelled the challenge of Sailor Tom Sharkey. On May 11, 1900, he conquered James J. Corbett, stopping the former champion in the 23rd round.
The Jeffries-Sharkey sockfest was a doozy. For many years this bout, a 25-round affair, was considered the most brutal heavyweight title fight. There were no judges in those days. If a fight went the distance, the referee merely raised the hand of the fighter that he thought had the best of it. There was no protest when referee George Siler raised the hand of Jeffries, but the stout-hearted Sharkey cemented his reputation as one rough customer.
Boxing was resurrected in Coney Island during the 1920s. One of the more noteworthy cards staged at Coney Island Stadium was held on May 25, 1926. It featured Ruby Goldstein, an 18-year-old knockout artist from Manhattan’s Lower East Side (and later a prominent referee). Goldstein, who had acquired an avid following, was pitted against Ace Hudkins, the Nebraska Wildcat.
Hudkins wasn’t much older than Goldstein, but he was considerably more seasoned. He would saddle young Ruby with his first defeat, knocking him out in the fourth round.
Rising featherweight contender Tony Canzoneri also appeared on that card. Born in Slidell, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, Canzoneri had most of his early pro fights in Brooklyn and adopted the borough as his home. He went on to win the New York version of the world featherweight title and the world lightweight title.
The career of Canzoneri, a future Hall of Famer, provides a window into a bygone era, an era when Brooklyn was awash in neighborhood fight clubs and the best boxers, with few exceptions, had dozens of undercard fights on their ledgers before they succeeded in landing a main event.
Canzoneri had his first pro fight in July of 1925. Over the next 25 months, he fought 48 times. Twenty-four of those fights were in Brooklyn; seven in the neighboring borough of Queens.
In Brooklyn, Canzoneri fought at Ridgewood Grove (a facility that straddled the Brooklyn-Queens border), the Broadway Arena, the Fort Hamilton Arena, Coney Island Stadium, Canarsie Stadium, and Ebbets Field.
Boxing at Ebbets Field never reached the heights that it did in the big baseball parks across the river in the Bronx, but the hallowed home of the Dodgers had a few moments in the sun. Former middleweight champion Mickey Walker, outweighed by almost 30 pounds, battled Jack Sharkey to a 15-round draw on July 22, 1931. Later that year, a crowd estimated at 30,000 (an impressive turnout considering the economic climate) watched Sharkey outpoint Primo Carnera in a bout billed for the American heavyweight title.
Of the aforementioned boxing arenas, the Broadway Arena, in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, and Ridgewood Grove were the busiest. The Broadway, which could trace its lineage as a home for boxing to 1914, was the top fight club in the metropolitan area during the 1930s and 1940s. It likely hosted more than a thousand shows before it shut down in 1951. Researchers have documented 1,229 boxing shows at Ridgewood Grove from 1920 to 1954.
These clubs, run on shoestring budgets, were nurseries for fighters on the way up and ATM machines, of a sort, for journeymen and fighters on the way down. Few fighters seized the imagination of the public on the way up like Rocky Graziano. His career, like so many boxers, paralleled that of Tony Canzoneri, albeit the Brooklyn phase of Graziano’s career was shorter. He debuted at the Broadway Arena, the first of his 14 fights in Brooklyn.
The Eastern Parkway Arena was a late addition to the Brooklyn boxing scene. The converted roller rink at 1435 Eastern Parkway hosted a weekly Monday Night show that ran on the Dumont network from May 19, 1952 to May 16, 1955.
Carl “Bobo” Olson, from Honolulu by way of San Francisco, and Gene Fullmer, from West Jordan, Utah, had their first New York exposures at Eastern Parkway. Matchmaker Teddy Brenner, who served in the same capacity at Madison Square Garden, was testing them to see if they were worthy of fighting on a larger stage. Indeed they were, especially Fullmer, who engaged Sugar Ray Robinson in a robust four-fight series.
The most famous alumnus of this venue was Floyd Patterson. Eleven of his first 16 pro fights were at Eastern Parkway Arena. In 1956, the Brooklyn-based Patterson became the youngest man to win the heavyweight title, a distinction he held for 30 years.
The Eastern Parkway Arena was in the Brownsville section, a fertile pod of fistic talent. During the first half of the 20th century, Brownsville boxers were disproportionately Jewish. As the neighborhood changed, so also did the pigmentation of her boxers. Mike Tyson, Riddick Bowe, and Eddie Mustafa Muhammad did more than uphold Brownsville’s boxing legacy; they took it to a new level.
Mike Tyson never fought in Brooklyn; Riddick Bowe only once after turning pro, an early bout at Gleason’s Gym that was little more than a public workout. Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, born Edward Gregory, never fought in Brooklyn either but had several engagements at Sunnyside Garden in Queens, a place that was a nursery for his former amateur rival, Brooklyn’s Vito Antuofermo. When Sunnyside Garden closed in 1977, the obit eulogized the cozy arena as the last of New York’s neighborhood fight clubs.
Philadelphia’s Danny Garcia met Tijuana’s Erik Morales in the main go of the inaugural boxing card at Barclays Center. The undercard was spiced with local fighters: Paulie Malignaggi, Daniel Jacobs, Luis Collazo, Peter Quillin, and Dmitriy Salita. In the wings, figuratively if not literally, were Tyson, Bowe, Mustafa Muhammad, Antuofermo, Shannon Briggs, Zab Judah, Mark Breland, Juan LaPorte, and Junior Jones.
They say that boxing is dead, a refrain that was heard even in the best of times. Then it blooms anew where it was previously dormant. Boxing in Brooklyn was ripe for a renaissance. Barclays Center arrived at a propitious time.
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Boots and Bam Win in Philly
Boots and Bam Win in Philly
Second time arounds can be difficult.
Hometown hero Jaron “Boots” Ennis squeezed by familiar foe Karen Chukhadzhian and Philadelphia discovered why all the buzz about Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez with his blazing knockout victory on Saturday.
Two for one Philly. Two for one.
IBF welterweight titlist Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) found Chukhadzhian (24-3) more difficult the second time around but emerged the winner again in front of more than 10,000 fans at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa.
The Philly fighter Ennis looked ready to knock the stuffing out of Chukhadzhian in the rematch. Instead, the Ukrainian fighter made good on his promise to show a different approach and a different result from their first encounter dominated by Ennis 11 months ago.
It was a blast this time.
Chukhadzhian came out blazing with left hooks and shifty angles that caught Ennis by surprise from the first round. A good thing the champion can take a good punch.
Ennis, 27, seemed more frustrated than confused by the more offensive approach of the Ukrainian. Instead of running away from the action the Ukrainian was countering and punching in-between the champion’s combos. Both got hit and both kept punching.
In the fifth round Ennis erupted with a lethal combination including a right uppercut and down went Chukhadzhian. It was only Ennis’ incredible reflexes that helped refrain from unloaded a rocket right while the Ukrainian was on one knee.
It seemed the end was near but instead of folding like an old banana the Ukrainian fighter cranked it up and the fight resumed.
Though the Ukrainian fighter resorted to hitting and holding and was deducted a point for excessive grappling in the 10th round, he kept firing while Ennis seemed to wane in the last three rounds.
It was a tremendous showing for Chukhadzhian but fell short of winning as three judges saw Ennis the winner 119-107, 117-109, 116-110.
“I was prepared for anything coming,” said Ennis. “I wanted to get the knockout.”
Bam Wins
In the co-main boxing’s youngest world champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (21-0, 14 KOs) became the first to knock out Mexico’s Pedro Guevara (43-5-1, 22 KOs) and retained the WBC super fly title.
Rodriguez, 24, pressured the veteran contender Guevara immediately and fired from various angles that forced the challenger to exchange. That was the first sign that the Mexican fighter was not going to be able to hit and move.
In the third round it seemed Rodriguez had figured out Guevara and moved in for the kill. He had promised to be the first to knock out the Mexican fighter and then opened up with a withering attack that saw both exchange with Rodriguez’s left cross connecting. It took Guevara two seconds later to collapse from the effect of the blow. He got up, and Rodriguez moved in with a feint and two blows then unleashing a hidden right uppercut that Guevara never saw.
Down went Guevara and he wasn’t getting up at 2:47 of the third round.
“I kind of already knew it was going to happen that way,” said Rodriguez of the knockout win. “I thought he was going to stand in there.”
Other Bouts
Former featherweight world titlist Raymond Ford (16-1-1, 8 KOs) rebooted as a super featherweight with a one-sided unanimous decision over Puerto Rico’s Orlando Gonzalez (23-3, 13 KOs) after 10 rounds at super featherweight.
Ford looks stronger at 130 pounds.
Ford floored Gonzalez twice with sizzling right hooks in the battle between southpaws. After dominating most of the first eight rounds Ford was forced to chase Gonzalez who refused to engage the last two rounds. After 10 rounds all three judges favored Ford 100-98 twice and 99-89.
Mexican light heavyweight Manuel Gallegos (21-2-1, 18 KOs) upset undefeated Khalil Coe (9-1-1, 7 KOs) dropping the American prospect four times before ending it in the ninth round.
Body shots by Gallegos broke down Coe’s defense who was a 20-1 favorite going into the fight. The taller Mexican fighter absorbed big shots to target Coe’s body and that proved the difference.
“I felt good, I felt strong at 175 pounds,” said Gallegos whose last fight was a loss to Diego Pacheco.
Ammo Williams (17-1, 12 KOs) returned to the win column with a blazing fifth round stoppage over Gian Garrido (11-2, 8 KOs) in a middleweight fight. In William’s last fight he lost to Hamzah Sheeraz last June in Riyadh.
Photo credit: Mark Robinson / Matchroom
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The Davis Brothers Hit the Trifecta in Their Norfolk Homecoming
On March 12, 1997, Top Rank promoted a show in Grand Rapids, Michigan, featuring the Mayweather clan – brothers Roger and Jeff and their precocious nephew Floyd Jr, an Olympic silver medalist. Tonight, Top Rank dusted off the homecoming template for the Davis family – brothers Keyshawn, Kelvin, and Keon. The venue was Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia, where Norfolk legend Pernell Whitaker scored some of his best wins. But “Sweet Pea’ was never as spectacular as Keyshawn was tonight with a sellout crowd of 10,568 looking on.
Keyshawn (12-0, 8 KOs) was matched against Argentina’s Gustavo Lemos who came in 6.4 pounds overweight. It was the second U.S. appearance for Lemos who brought a 29-1 record after losing an unpopular decision to Richardson Hitchins in his U.S. debut.
In the second round, Davis scored three knockdowns, closing the show. The first was the result of a counter left hook and the second, also a left hook, turned Lemos’s legs to jelly. He beat the count only to be crushed by a vicious tight uppercut. It was all over at the 1:08 mark of the second stanza.
Davis’s next fight is expected to come against Denys Berinchyk, the Ukrainian who holds the WBO version of the lightweight title. Down the road, there’s a potential mega-fight with Gervonta “Tank” Davis who Keyshawn called out in his post-fight interview. And then there’s Cuban amateur standout Andy Cruz, Keyshawn’s amateur nemesis and the last man to defeat him, that coming on a split decision in the semi-final round of the Tokyo Olympics.
Semi-wind-up
In a fight that didn’t heat up until the final round, Virginia middleweight Troy Isley, an amateur and pro stablemate of Keyshawn Davis, out-worked and out-classed Tyler Howard en route to winning a one-sided decision. The judges had it 98-92 and 99-91 twice.
Isley improved to 14-0 (5). It was the second loss in 22 pro starts for Tennessee’s Howard who had been staying busy on the Team Combat League circuit where he lost five 1-round bouts.
Abdullah Mason Overcomes adversity.
Twenty-year-old Cleveland southpaw Abdullah Mason, a lightweight, just may be the best boxer in his age group in the world. Tonight, he faced adversity for the first time in his career. Yohan Vasquez, a 30-year-old Dominican fighting out of the Bronx, had Abdullah on the canvas twice in a wild opening round. Between those two knockdowns, Mason scored a knockdown of his own.
In round two, Mason brought matters to a halt with a left to the solar plexus. Vasquez went down in obvious pain and while he beat the count, the expression of his face showed that he was in no mind to continue and the bout was stopped. The official time was 1:59 of round two.
It was the sixth straight knockout for Abdullah Mason who improved to 16-0. Vasquez declined to 26-6.
Other Bouts
In a welterweight battle of southpaws, Kelvin Davis (14-0, 7 KOs) exploited a 7-inch height advantage to win a one-sided decision over Yeis Solano who fought a survivors’ fight for the first six rounds, hoping to land a counterpunch that never appeared. The oldest of the Davis brothers punctuated his triumph with a knockdown in the final seconds of the 8-round fight, putting Solano on the canvas with a short right hand. It was the fourth straight loss for Colombia’s Solano who opened his career 15-0.
In an 8-round middleweight contest enlivened by trainer Scott Sigmon’s commentary, Sigmon’s fighter Austin DeAnda, a native Virginian, improved 16-0 (10) with a unanimous decision over South Carolina’s DeAundre Pettus (12-3). Neither fighter exhibited a lot of skill in a fight that, in the words of ringside pundit Tim Bradley, was both entertaining and boring (our sentiments exactly). The scores were 78-74 and 77-75 twice.
Lanky, 23-year-old super welterweight Keon Davis, the youngest of the Davis trio, won his pro debut with a 40-36 shutout of Jalen Moore (1-2). Keon had a big fourth round, but Moore, a willing mixer, survived the onslaught and made it to the final bell.
Robert Meriweather III, a 19-year-old super bantamweight, advanced to 8-0 (3) with a unanimous decision over 34-year-old St. Louis native Eric Howard (6-3). The judges had it 60-54 and 59-55 twice.
In the lid-lifter, Muskegon, Michigan native Ra’eese Aleem (21-1, 12 KOs) rebounded from his first pro defeat with a lopsided 10-round decision over hard-trying Derlyn Hernandez-Gerarldo (12-3-1). This was the first fight in 17 months for Aleem who lost a split decision to Naoya Inoue’s next foe Sam Goodman on Goodman’s turf in Australia. All three judges had it 100-89.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 303: East Coast Fight Cards Seize the Boxing Spotlight
Avila Perspective, Chap. 303: East Coast Fight Cards Seize the Boxing Spotlight
Once upon a time Olympic gold medalists provided America’s next great wave of fighters.
No longer.
Keyshawn Davis represents the new breed of American fighters that fell short of gold in the Olympics, but command respect as a professional.
The undefeated Davis (11-0, 7 KOs) meets Argentina’s rugged Gustavo Lemos (29-1, 19 KOs) on Friday, Nov. 8, at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. ESPN+ will show the lightweight battle set for 10 rounds on the Top Rank card.
The brash lightweight from Norfolk managed to win a silver medal in the 2021 Olympics but for many, he looked like the winner. Since then, he’s blazed his way through whoever Top Rank put in front of him.
Not winning gold in the Olympics is not a blemish, especially with the East European dominated judging. Unless an American wins by knockout they are not going to be awarded a decision.
It’s a major reason why boxing may not be a sport in the L.A. Olympics.
The pro fight world offers a true glimpse of a boxer’s talent. Capricious judging can be eliminated by a knockout with smaller gloves and no head gear. The hurting game is ruthless and no amount of biased judging can stop a deadly left hook.
Davis has a non-apologetic thirst for ripping through easy trials and sipping success against top tier talent. He wants success and wants it now even against dangerous opponents like Lemos.
“It’s not going to be beautiful. There’s going to be blood everywhere. His nose might be a little lopsided after,” said Davis. “But, I respect you, Gustavo. You are an amazing fighter. I appreciate you for taking the fight in my hometown, but I’m going to f**k you up.”
Lemos, who recently lost a very close and much debated decision to another East Coast American fighter, is happy to be offered another opportunity to showcase his Argentine style.
“I have a strong opponent, and I’m going to take advantage of this opportunity,” said Lemos who lost a spirited battle to Richardson Hitchins in Las Vegas last April. ““I’ve always said that he (Davis) is a good opponent and that we’re going to have a beautiful fight.”
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
Davis will be joined on the fight card by his brothers Keon Davis who makes his pro debut and Kelvin Davis who fights Yeis Solano in a welterweight bout.
Also on the same card will be elite fighters in featherweight contender Ra’eese Aleem and hot lightweight prospect Abdullah Mason.
Saturday in Philly
Two world champions Jaron Ennis and Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez headline an impressive fight card in Philadelphia.
IBF welterweight titlist “Boots” Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) once again meets Ukraine’s Karen Chukhadzhian (24-2, 13 KOs) but this time with a world title at stake on Saturday, Nov. 9, at Wells Fargo Center in Philly. DAZN will stream the Matchroom Boxing card.
Their first encounter was not easy for either and resulted in a decision win for Ennis. But that was back in January. Whoever adjusts quicker will be the winner in this competitive-on-paper world title fight.
Chukhadzhian, 28, can take a punch and has a deceptive style of counters and attacks that seem simple but is effective. In their first match 11 months ago Ennis quickly discovered the Ukrainian fighter’s durability and slipped into a boxing mode to utilize speed and mobility. It proved effective but will it be enough this time?
Ennis, 27, has a world title and seeks more lucrative fights but could stumble if not prepared for another tough clash. But he’s confident that his skills can help him evade any kind of slip.
The Philly fighter filled the arena last time when he defeated David Avanesyan by knockout in the fifth. This time he’s joined by another young gun in Bam Rodriguez, a fellow world titlist.
“He’s going crazy right now. Going up and down in weight divisions. I’m blessed to have him on this card,” said Ennis. “I’m here to steal his fans and he’s here to steal mine.”
Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs) 24, meets former world titlist Pedro Guevara (42-4-1, 22 KOs) a Mexican veteran who wants to take away Bam’s WBC super fly title.
“I’m trying to go undisputed at 115 and then go on from there,” said Rodriguez. “I’m only 24 so I still have some strength to gain.”
Both will be joined by another hot prospect from Pomona, California named Tito Mercado, an undefeated lightweight.
Mercado (16-0, 15 KOs) is a tall and fast lightweight with power who recently signed with Matchroom Boxing. He has a knockout streak of five and meets Mexican banger Jesus Saracho (14-2-1, 11 KOs) in a 10-round fight. At 23, he’s fought impressive competition and handled it easily.
Puerto Rico
Former super welterweight world titlist Subriel Matias (20-2, 20 KOs) meets Mexico’s Roberto Ramirez (26-3-1, 19 KOs) on Saturday. Nov. 9, at Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Ramirez is jumping up three weight classes for this fight. PPV.COM will stream the fight card live.
Fights to Watch
Thurs. ESPN+ 3:30 p.m. Osleys Iglesias (12-0) vs Petro Ivanov (18-0-2).
Fri. ESPN + 3:20 p.m. Keyshawn Davis (11-0) vs Gustavo Lemos (29-1);
Sat. PPV.COM 3 p.m. Subriel Matias (20-2) vs Roberto Ramirez (26-3-1).
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